Pope: 'current migration crisis greatest tragedy after
WW2'
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has called
for an ongoing commitment to welcome and integrate forced migrants and refugees
and described the current migration phenomenon as the world’s
greatest tragedy after the Second World War.
Speaking on Wednesday to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience, the Pope also continued his catechesis on Christian hope and appealed to the faithful to ‘re-discover’ the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Speaking on Wednesday to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience, the Pope also continued his catechesis on Christian hope and appealed to the faithful to ‘re-discover’ the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
In his appeal, launched after the catechesis,
Pope Francis reminded all Catholic communities to participate in the upcoming “24 hours for the
Lord” initiative on 23rd and 24th of March with Churches across the globe
offering the Sacrament of Confession as a “privileged moment of grace” during
our Lenten journey.
And speaking to an Italian association that offers services
and help to migrants and refugees upon their arrival and a long-term process of
integration, the Pope highlighted the rights and the responsibilities of those
who receive and of those who are received, and described the current migration
crisis as the greatest tragedy after World War 2.
His words come just days before EU Heads of State or
Government convene in the city to mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of
Rome.
In his catechesis meanwhile, Pope Francis reflected on a
reading from Saint Paul which focusses on the attitudes of steadfastness and
encouragement.
They are intimately connected to the reality of Christian
hope because ours, he said, is a God of steadfastness as he loves us perseveringly
and never tires of consoling us.
He is also a God of encouragement, he continued, who calls
us to be close to the weak and the needy with whom he asks us to be strong and
to be sowers of hope.
What’s more, the Pope continued, Christians are called to
spread hope by supporting and encouraging one another, especially those in
danger of faltering. But we do so, he concluded, with the strength
provided by the Lord, who is our unfailing source of hope.
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